Purim and Nature

Understanding the Hebrew word "teva" sheds light on the story of Purim.

Teva is the Hebrew word for nature. An innocent sounding word, borrowed by the world's largest generic drug maker, its deep meaning alludes to Judaism's attitude toward the modern world.

There are those who saw mankind's advances in understanding nature as a challenge to the concept of a world controlled by God. Science came to explain phenomenon that people had once attributed to God, making the Divine an outdated explanation as to why things occur in the world.

Judaism sees no conflict between the two. In fact, from the Torah's perspective, the more one understands teva, nature, the more one can understand God. The word teva alludes to this very idea: it means an imprint. The Hebrew word 'matbea,' meaning coin, which is derived from the same root as teva, illustrates this idea. A matbea is so called because it is the end result of a cast mold, a definitive form whose impression is stamped onto a metal disc.

Nature is nothing more than God's imprint on the world, and the seemingly natural means through which He exercises providence.

In Jewish consciousness, all of science and nature is nothing more than God's imprint on the world. The more we can understand our universe, and even ourselves, the closer we can approach Divine wisdom and the richer life it provides. The world, however, is a place which hides God's hand behind nature, and it is possible for one to deny His presence. That self-imposed hiding is a gift, for it makes free will possible. If God's presence were so obvious that nobody could deny it, the reward one deserved for connecting to Him would be diminished since there would be no alternative. In reality, nature is nothing more than God's imprint on the world, and the seemingly natural means through which He exercises providence.

Transcending Nature

With this background, we can also note the limits of teva. Although the cloak of nature hides God's hand in the world, there have been individuals throughout Jewish history who saw through the veil and realized the truth with clarity so precise that the laws of nature for them became irrelevant. Nature had no meaning since it failed to obscure the involvement of God which, for such individuals, was patent. As a result, they were not bound by those rules, and could transcend "the matrix." Simply put, they could perform miracles. For example, Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa once came home and found his daughter distraught for she had lit the Shabbat candles with vinegar instead of oil and knew they would soon burn out. Rabbi Chanina proclaimed that the one who makes oil burn should make vinegar burn, and it did. To him it was all the same, and the mechanics of natural combustion were as miraculous as the splitting of a sea.

Teva, therefore, is nothing more than a partition behind which God's hand lies; a barrier that becomes less relevant when one sees through it.

Purim and the Lord of the Ring

One biblical story underscores the centrality of teva, nature, and God's use of it to steer history. The story of Purim is replete with strange "natural" coincidences. First, king Achashverosh killed his queen, sentencing her to death in his drunken stupor. This would eventually set the stage for a new queen, Esther, who unbeknownst to the king, was a Jew and would save her people from extermination. In another "natural" occurrence, Mordechai, the leader of the Jews just happened to overhear two courtiers planning to assassinate the king, since he coincidentally understood the foreign language they spoke. He transmitted this information to the king who recorded it, and the king just happened to "naturally" come across it in his book of chronicles when the plan to kill the Jews was coming to fruition. It was the honor afforded to Mordechai for saving the king's life that foreshadowed and even began Haman's demise. Later, when Esther made a party to which she invited the king and Haman, the instigator of the plot to kill the Jews, the king would storm out in fury, only to return when Haman was pleading for his life in a way that the king just happened to interpret as Haman's inappropriate interest in the Queen, thereby sealing Haman's fate. Coincidence?

The story of Purim is one of hidden miracles, of Divine interference in teva without breaking one rule of teva. It should come as no surprise that the symbol of the keys to teva, the physical representation of which side in the Purim story was winning, is none other than the tabaat, a signet ring, another word related etymologically to teva. A signet ring is called a tabaat because of the tibua, impression, that it makes on another surface. The royal signet begins on Achashveirosh's finger. When Haman convinces him to wipe out the Jewish people, the ring passes to Haman's hand (Esther 3:10). The decree to kill the Jews was signed with that same signet ring (Esther 3:12), indicating the shift in teva, nature, toward elimination of the Jews. Finally, after Haman's demise, the king takes the ring from the hand of Haman and places it on Mordechai's (Esther 8:2). The edict permitting the Jews to seek vengeance against their enemies is signed with same tabaat, ring (Esther 8:10). The keys to teva pass back and forth, ultimately landing in the story of Purim on the hand of the nation that will survive.

To the discriminating eye, teva is nothing more than God's fingerprint. When a situation appears as bleak as the threat in the Purim story, instead of wasting our time trying to manipulate the natural variables to our advantage, we can turn to the Master of nature, and reach for the ultimate solution.

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About the Author

Rabbi Doniel Baron is a senior lecturer at Aish HaTorah's Discovery Seminar. He received his law degree from NYU School of Law and practiced law at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. He presently lives in Jerusalem with his wife and children.

I have been studying Torah for about 15 years and I converted to Judaism ten years ago. Rav Baron's classes, which I attend in Jerusalem, are unparalleled. They are even more insightful and exciting than the articles posted here (although they are excellent too). He is a true genius!

(5)
Doniel Baron,
March 19, 2008 6:52 AM

How much effort is expected of us?

I agree with the commenters who remind us of man's obligation to exert effort to better circumstances. My point was to realize that while we have an obligation to act, we need to realize that in the end, it is not our action that really saves us, although it may appear that way. Instead, we need to we realize that the only hope is from above, and trying harder and intensifying our efforts on the ground makes no difference past a certain point.

"Permission" to fight back only goes as far as G-d wants it to go. We can engage in our own actions, but once we RELY on our own actions, we've fallen into the trap.

Sure, Moshe and Aharon participated in the effort to bring the plagues - and that is perhaps the best example. Their part - hitting the water with a staff, throwing ashes into the air, had virtually no natural role in bringing the miraculous end result. It was part of man's symbolic participation, but could never be mistaken for the real cause of the plagues.

Your additional thoughts would be welcome.

(4)
shells,
March 18, 2008 4:19 PM

thank YOU, I can so relate to this personally

when what I can only refer to as my nightmare happened to me last year, I kept saying WHY? WHY? WHY? .... but even though I was abusing my body with alcohol and ciggerettes like a slow suicide option as I call it... to blot out the pain... I had to keep going... for my children...for who else did they have fighting for them? and then one night after searching the internet for answers I realised something... I never felt in control of my life up to this point and now everything I was doing... searching for... and finding... I found it... and then it really hit me... I was trained for this moment... and that was when I allowed myself to turn back to the light because I knew that I did not train myself for what I do now... and I explain this as me following... unknowingly... G-ds plan for my life... and that I was guided by my heart in everything I did... that to me is G-ds unconditional love... that he also created in me... and it was He who connected me with the Aish Team's website for further awakening. I know also that scientists and others have explanations for how things happened that are written... so what? doesn't that just proove how much detail G-d put into the world and our creation? nobody said He performed magic did they? and with freewill and evolution G-d gave Man the opportunities to find these things out for themselves in my humble opinion. I say G-d is awesome :0) and with freewill I have reflected back my life to him... with unconditional love. praise be to G-d

Even when performing the Nes Niglah of the 10 plagues and at the Sea of Reeds, Gd required Moses to first raise his staff before the miracle could take place. This teaches us that we just can't look to Gd for divine intervention without first exerting some effort ourselves. We, here on earth, at least must try, realizing that our ultimate success or failure is determined by Gd, alone.

(2)
Bill Silverman,
March 17, 2008 8:10 AM

What about Hitler

Better to have relied on our own actions in WWII and warned the Jews of Hungary and Poland in 1944 and 45. "Permission" to fight back, along with arms, would have gone a long way. Instead, only 35 Jews from Israel parachuted into Eastern Europe, and very little warning. Sometimes, G-d give us the hint -- the megilla Esther -- and expects us to take it.

(1)
Ruth Housman,
March 16, 2008 11:44 AM

TEVA

Thank you for a deep analysis of the story of Purim, replete, as you say, with deep coincidence and meaning. For me God is always in the wings. Think about signature itself, the word in English. As for swans flying through the skies, as for cygneture.Now I can work magic with words because the alchemy of story itself is contained not only within the letters but in the words themselves and I can and will walk across languages through Babel, which made this alchemy possible. As babble is to babe and Babel is to El, the ancient word for God. To see this is to see something remarkably beautiful and awesome. And Purim, this story is about PURITY.

This is NOT a word game. So many rabbis have dismissed what I am saying but there is this thing called revelation and there is downloading from the Source itself, which is LOVE and the river.